10 Ways to Get the Most Out of Coaching Sessions

Coaching is an ongoing professional relationship that helps people to produce extraordinary results in their lives, careers or businesses.

The way in which your approach coaching sessions will make a difference to what you get out of them and how much you achieve. Here are some tips that will help you to get the most out of coaching sessions:

1. Choose Wisely

Choose coaching and your coach wisely. Coaching is not counselling or therapy and it is important to be clear about the distinctions. There are many resources on the internet that will help you learn more about coaching. A good coach will also suggest a referral to a more appropriate professional if your needs are beyond their scope.

Recommendations from friends and colleagues are a useful way to find a good coach. Don’t be afraid to ask for testimonials. Get clear about who the coach is and how they work. Many coaches offer a free consultation and I recommend taking a free consultation up so that you can get any questions answered and ensure you are a good match to work together before you commit.

2. Get Clear

If you can, write a list of the areas you want to work on before you start your coaching sessions. If you are not sure about what you want to work on you can let your coach know when you initiate coaching and work on this together. The clearer you are, the easier it will be to achieve your goals.

3. Be Ready

Coaching takes commitment. Be prepared to work hard and be challenged. Coaching is about making changes and achieving different results to what you are achieving now. You will need to be in it for the long haul and be prepared to try new things. Your coach’s job is to help you to go beyond what you normally do and achieve. The purpose of coaching is to see where you can improve in the area of life you are working on.

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” — Albert Einstein

4. Be Prepared

Be prepared for each session. You will work with your coach during each session to create actions to complete for the next session. These actions will help you to move towards your goal. Make sure you do what you promise and turn up prepared each time. Completing these actions may be challenging at times, but the real work happens between sessions: in your own life.

5. Be Punctual

Treat your coaching sessions and coach with respect and be punctual for coaching sessions. If you are always late for appointments and you are doing the same with your coaching sessions, this could be an area that you could use your sessions to work on.

6. Be Open To Change

Know that by undertaking the coaching process, you are saying that it is time to move your life forward with absolute commitment and confidence. Be prepared for change. Coaching will have positive impacts on many areas of your life, not just the area you are working on. Be open and willing to change. Don’t hire a coach because someone has told you that you should or because it sounds good. Do it because you are ready to change and take full responsibility for engaging in the process.

7. Be Coachable

Being coachable is fundamental to the coaching relationship. Being coachable doesn’t mean you cannot voice your opinion or that you should blindly follow what your coach says. It does, however, mean that you are open and willing to be coached and trust your coach’s recommendations and ideas. This is why it is so important to spend some time choosing a coach. You need to feel comfortable with them and trust their judgement before you get into the coaching process with them. If a coach identifies that you are not fully committed to your goals and agreed actions, they will raise this with you so you can both determine the most appropriate course of action.

8. Be Responsible

Be responsible for your own actions and initiate the coaching process on this basis. This also means raising with your coach — without delay — anything that you are unhappy about within your coaching relationship. Don’t relinquish power to your coach. Coaching is a partnership and you need to be responsible for your own actions.

9. Be Committed

The coaching process takes absolute commitment. To achieve anything extraordinary in life, you need to be willing to engage, work hard and move past obstacles and your own fears. Make sure you are ready to take on the commitment when you start your coaching sessions. Being clear about your commitment will help you get through the challenges you will face along the way.

10. Have Fun

Finally, have fun with the coaching process. Coaching is an incredibly powerful and rewarding way to make changes in your life and /or business. Make sure you enjoy the ride!

Coaching is so much more effective when a client has predefined what it is they want to work on. It makes the time spent so much more constructive. Wandering aimlessly through topics is unfair to both the client and coach.